Chapter 34

It was past midsummer now. I returned to my hometown and clan birthplace, Nayvil County in Fordoneria Prefecture. I was shocked to see Nayvil Castle looking far more miserable than I’d imagined. “Hey, Laviala, was our old headquarters always this tiny?” “It feels shabby to me, too. Back then, I thought it was much bigger…” “I thought I’d feel at least some nostalgia when I got here, but I don’t at all.” “Of course you don’t. After all, you weren’t the lord of this castle for very long. Wouldn’t you have more memories in the manor you used to live in?” I realized she was right. “Do you want to visit the manor while we’re here?” “No, it’s fine. I’m here to visit my clan’s graves.” “How admirable to cherish your hometown so.” Kelara’s compliment was genuine, not an attempt at brownnosing. She even seemed happy. “Yes, I wanted to do something that would truly please someone like you. I’ve moved on a bit too far from here, after all.” People who left were looked down on. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, as they say. I must’ve had lots of enemies by now. “So I came to at least show I’m not neglecting my hometown.” “I know. Besides, you seem to be enjoying yourself.” Kelara appeared to have read my mind. Strangely, I found myself shedding a few tears as I gazed at the castle where I’d been the lord of a few mere counties. “I sure did well to come from a place like this all the way to managing kingdom affairs. Actually, I guess I started from an even worse position.” Hardly anyone from Nayvil was in my military now. Most had come in after I’d expanded my territory. In other words, I didn’t have any vassals from my time in Nayvil. Not that there were many people with this place as their hometown, though… I heard someone crying, for some reason. “Kelara, why are you crying, too?” Kelara, who was always calm and collected, had tears streaming down her cheeks like a court lady. “A good question… Perhaps I found myself sympathizing with you? It must have been a long and hard fight.” A few others were crying, too. It was rather awkward seeing people besides myself getting emotional. I turned toward my vassals and said, “Everyone, thank you from the bottom of my heart for serving me all this time. I sure never thought I’d rise to my current position from a place like this. I even felt like I was going to die a meaningless death in that tiny fort that was about to fall.” The sun felt just right as it shone on me. Maybe the weather had something to do with it, but this was the calmest I’d felt in years. “After I survived, I fought desperately to get stronger. I did everything I could, even getting my hands dirty. But it seems my efforts have finally been rewarded. This is all thanks to you, all of you who supported me. I couldn’t have come this far by myself.” It must’ve been unprecedented for a regent, but I bowed my head slowly. “Thank you. And please keep up the good work.” From seemingly no one in particular, I heard the words, “The pleasure is ours!” followed by similar shouts one after another. I knew I was a selfish man, but I did want to fight alongside my vassals as long as I could. The next day, we went to the Nayvil clan’s ancestral cemetery. The graves were well tended, but none of them were very big. My ancestors’ social standing prevented them from being able to erect more luxurious graves. They were the low, rounded tombstones you saw everywhere. I’d passed by many a grave during my expedition, and so many of them had this type of petty lord’s grave marker. This was just a visit, so not only were my vassals with me, but so were my wives. Lumie was my legal wife, so I had her right next to me. On my other side waited Seraphina and Fleur. “I have reached the rank of regent, my clansmen. Which one am I again—the sixteenth? I shall do everything I can to make my line prosper, starting with me.” The people around me were offering a prayer along with me. A hushed silence went on for some time. “You know, these graves could be renovated into something far more impressive. What do you think?” Lumie asked. For someone from the royal family, this graveyard must have been a real shock. “Won’t you at least make the tombstones bigger for more words? Then people can celebrate the Nayvils for many years.” “No, they’re fine as they are, Lumie. I hear it’s unlucky to make graves too fancy anyway.” I shook my head and refused her suggestion. “Besides, I have certain plans for the future. There’s word of a famine happening out west, too, so it’d be unsavory to do anything too extravagant.” The period before harvest was the time when foodstuffs were most scarce. Famines had been especially frequent recently. “But that’s outside of Your Excellency’s territory. I’m talking about inside your territory, where the former king’s friends are.” “As regent, I have to think about the realm in its entirety. That’s what a regent does.” Lumie let out an “Ah…” “You really do understand your duties, darling.” Seraphina came closer to me. “That’s right. You’re not done yet. You have to shoot for even higher up. Please become king soon.” “Well, that’s what I meant, but you don’t really need to say that out loud…” I’d do something with my ancestors’ graves after I became king. After visiting the graves, we took a tour of the domain by carriage, and as we did, people welcomed me from the roadside. “Seraphina, you had something to do with this, didn’t you?” “It wasn’t me. This is the work of Fleur.” Fleur nodded softly. “I couldn’t make it to the royal capital for a while, so I wanted to get a look at some of Maust and Nayvil.” “That’s so thoughtful of you. Thanks so much.” Childbirth had kept Fleur from coming to the capital right away, but it seemed she’d made good use of the time. “Also, I didn’t quite plan it. As Your Excellency’s hometown, Nayvil County has had lower taxes, too, so of course everyone loves you.” I laughed at my wasted gratitude. “I guess so. There’s no better lord than one who lowers taxes.” “Of course, you were also quite popular to begin with. There’s no way someone so young and skilled at war wouldn’t have the confidence of his people.” “You’re to thank for keeping a good eye on things while I was away.” While I’d been away from Maust Castle, I’d left some of the governance to Fleur. Of course, because I was lord, most official documents had been issued under my name, but I’d left some of the actual decision-making to Fleur. That’s how intelligent she was. If she hadn’t been my wife, I’d have liked to use her as a civil servant. “I did everything in my power to fulfill what you asked of me, but I think many people were unhappy with it. There must be plenty of people who think a woman shouldn’t be governing.” Fleur wasn’t smiling as she spoke. She was speaking purely from a bureaucratic point of view, not complaining about a lack of popularity. “People like that would find another reason to complain even if I did things myself. Don’t worry about it. It’s normal for a clan head’s wife to do things on his behalf when he’s away anyway.” “Yes, that’s true. It goes back at least eight hundred years to the wife of a margrave. When I glanced through the records, I found at least ten more cases after that.” So she’d even checked for precedents. Not to sound full of myself, but she’d made the right choice being my wife. Living under a small viscount-level clan, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to show what she was capable of. “Thanks. I can’t wait to get back to Maust Castle.” After my inspection of the Nayvil clan’s birthplace, I had plans to go to my domain capital, Maust Castle. Lords from all over were going to come to celebrate me. Since I’d been spending all my time in the royal capital, this would also help me rein things in. Many of the people who had become regent only to fall did so because they neglected their hometown. It was understandable. The regent was basically at the top of the vassal ladder. His actual power often surpassed that of the king. Getting so used to life in the royal capital made a person forget about their home base—and when that happened, someone was bound to show up there with machinations of their own. It was that kind of era. You couldn’t let your guard down. “I don’t think there have been any changes with regard to Maust Castle, but…” Fleur seemed to be choosing her words a bit carefully. “I believe many of the surrounding lords are afraid of you, Your Excellency. For a long time, none of them have experienced having to obey someone so powerful.” “Understood. I’ll try to be careful.” Needless to say, my reception in Maust Castle town far outstripped that of Nayvil County. My entrance into the castle had to be ceremonial; I couldn’t just walk in without any fanfare. I had come back from the royal capital, after all, so it was a triumphant return if there ever was one. “It’s getting there, but it’s not quite like the royal capital yet,” I muttered as I rode my horse through the castle town. “Someday, I’ll make this city even grander than the capital—and make it the new capital, or at least like a secondary one.” “Some governments have collapsed after their capital relocation caused them to lose the people’s trust. I wouldn’t quite recommend it,” Kelara admonished. “I was just saying it. Besides, that’s all up to His Majesty to decide.” “Indeed. If he ever suggests we move the capital to Maust, let’s give it another thought.” Kelara now fell silent with the mention of the king. Back in Maust Castle for the first time in forever, I waited for the appointed day. Lords came one after another, mainly from the surrounding area, to celebrate my victory against Orsent Cathedral. Including those with smaller territories, there were about forty of them—more than I’d thought. Some of them—like my sister Altia’s husband, Brando Naaham, and Seraphina’s father, Ayles Caltis—were practically my fellow clansmen. I believed I’d given them ranks befitting that relationship. Fleur’s brother, Meissel Wouge, was also more or less family, though he was technically just my general. Going before the lords, who were lined up, I sat down and said magnanimously, “There is no greater honor as regent than to have my victory celebrated by all of you.” However, I spotted one among them who didn’t look very thrilled. It was Brando, Altia’s husband. What was he looking so sour for? “My brother-in-law, I think this glorious victory is truly magnificent,” Brando said to me. “However…I must ask…isn’t it a bit odd how high your chair is?” “My chair? Ahh, I changed it to fit my new status as regent. If I don’t conduct myself as a regent, people might think I’m disrespecting royal authority.” Brando didn’t seem satisfied with that. “Right. But this…doesn’t it make us look like we’re your vassals, rather than your allies…?” Ahh, so that’s what this is about. I knew what Brando meant now. In other words, he thought the lords were purely my allies, rather than this being a liege-and-vassal relationship. To be fair, no matter how big the difference in our amount of land or soldiers, it didn’t mean Brando and I had a liege-and-vassal relationship. All of us were independent lords. So then whom did they serve? Of course, it was the king. Everyone was beneath Hasse I now. Thus, Brando’s discontent was not baseless. Even if I was regent, they didn’t have to consider me their liege. Basically, he thought I was being self-important. Now I knew exactly why Fleur had been worried. My “allies” here were nervous I might behave as if I was their liege. These people had lived their lives as independent lords, never explicitly beneath someone else before. Even if they’d surrendered in war, even if they’d been coerced into being almost vassal-like allies to a greater lord, they had lived proudly with the king as their only formal liege. But then I, an unprecedented character in this land, had become regent, so they viewed my return with suspicion. Wondering if I was going to subjugate them. Indeed I was. I’m going to subjugate you and incorporate you into my own forces. If I can’t at least do that, I can’t fight against the western lords the former king fled to. A clash between east and west was about to happen in the kingdom. The most powerful lords in the west were united, with the former king Paffus VI as their emblem. Looks like you have a mess to clean up, after all. This is just like what Settsu and Harima did. You experienced this, too, huh? Well, this is what happens when you try to force people to submit. Many people rose up against me, by the way. I had trouble with some of them, but I put them down one by one. Foolish bastards who don’t know when to and when not to fight can go to hell. This had all helped me make up my mind. Forgive me, Altia—but if Brando turns against me, I’m going to fight your husband. Of course, I would much prefer if that didn’t happen, but looking at Brando’s eyes, I thought it might be difficult to avoid. “My brother-in-law, can I please have your answer?” Brando asked again, more forcefully this time. “Of course, we want to fight together with you, but our land is not your land. I would be happy if you could confirm that for us.” This lord’s youthful eyes resembled my own. It was not something that said he just wanted to protect his own land; rather, he had the face of a man who yearned to expand more and more if he could. And that was why he couldn’t work under me. My father-in-law Ayles Caltis and his allies also watched my face uneasily. I raised the palm of my hand to them, as if to explain myself. I didn’t act panicked, though. I was the regent, after all. I’m not like any of you. “Fear not, for I shall not covet your lands. In fact, protecting your lands is my duty as His Majesty’s regent. We all have him as our only liege.” Brando exhaled as if my words had finally placated him, but he was still eyeing me carefully. “Hereafter, I may have to go to war in the name of His Majesty. I would certainly like to have your cooperation at that time.” With that, things calmed down. However, I was now mostly convinced of one thing: At some point, there would be killing between my forces and some of the people here. To unify the realm, I’d have to eliminate some of my former friends. “Is your wife here today?” I asked. “Yes. She is looking forward to seeing you. I believe she is being shown around the courtyard at the moment.” Brando’s expression softened. “Tell her I’d love to see her.” Altia came up to my room. The rappas were keeping tight surveillance around the perimeter, so even if there was a Naaham spy, they couldn’t get all the way in here. Altia’s hair had grown since we’d last met, making her look more feminine. “You were just a little girl before you were married, and now look at you.” “Well, I’m a young woman now. I’ve already got a daughter, too,” Altia said, giggling. Brando was truly a lucky man to have her as his wife. That’s just how highly I’d thought of him. I talked with Altia for a while about old times. Our memories were not of here but of Nayvil, so it almost felt like a brother-and-sister vacation getaway. “It feels so strange—you being regent and all the kingdom groveling before you.” She laughed as she enjoyed some tea. “I’ll make them grovel even more,” I said, and then got serious. “Altia, if at all possible, I want you to convince your husband to bow to me,” I implored her. “As regent, I’m in a position of leadership over Brando. I want you to talk to him so he doesn’t shirk that responsibility. If he defies me, it won’t do him any good.” It was a risky thing to ask. There was always the possibility that Altia would tell Brando about this, putting him on guard. Nevertheless, I asked her because I thought she would do as I said—well, not really. I didn’t want to betray my sister. I at least wanted to speak my mind with her, my blood relative. In the future, I’d undoubtedly be able to trust fewer people than ever before—an inevitable consequence of climbing the social hierarchy. Altia kept quiet for a moment, but finally she nodded slowly. “If not for you, I would have died a long time ago. So I want to do as you wish.” It was too soon to feel relieved. Altia wasn’t finished. “But if my husband still tries to defy you…then I’ll do what I feel is best. I’m a woman of Naaham now, you know.” She was looking me square in the eye, as if to show she didn’t feel bad one bit about what she’d said. I couldn’t keep myself from laughing out loud. “Oh, come on! That’s not something to laugh about,” Altia pouted, thinking I was making fun of her. Fair enough. “Sorry, sorry. You really are my sister. You’re just like me. If only my brother had a bit more backbone, too.” She stood her ground even in front of the regent. And as someone who’d married into another clan, she’d made the correct response. Altia was fulfilling her duty. “Altia, I’ll be frank with you. I’m going to unify this realm. I’m going to create an age without conflict anywhere in the kingdom.” “That sounds like a dream.” “Being regent is like a dream, too.” Altia nodded a little, as if conceding the point. “To that end, I need the cooperation of the lords around Fordoneria. Brando is my brother-in-law. If he gives me his all, I’ll award him with maybe three prefectures. So…” I put my hand to my chest and said, “No matter what you do, get your husband to submit to me. I’m going to keep on conquering so that you can have confidence in what I said. Ten years from now, I’ll be at the top of this kingdom.” Altia got up from her seat. “Your Excellency, thank you very much for your hospitality. I am most honored.” She spoke very formally, but soon laughed out loud. “You haven’t changed one bit. You’re as egotistical and savage as always, but the fact that you’re regent means this kingdom’s future needed you.” Altia came close and lightly kissed my cheek. For a family member, it was a normal display of affection. “Please become king. When you do, I don’t know what my status will be, or if I’ll even be alive, but I think you need to be king. Being under anyone is too restrictive for you.” “Oh, I will.” I stood up as well and hugged Altia tight. What a ridiculous brother-and-sister conversation. Normal talk just wasn’t for us apparently. “I’m very proud of you, Brother. There’s only one problem.” “What problem would that be?” “You move on women too fast.” That had a lot of punch, coming from my sister… “Oh, that… You see, with my position, it’d be bad if I didn’t have an heir, so… That doesn’t exactly mean I’m a womanizer or anything…” “I wasn’t saying you’re a womanizer, but the moment you realize a woman is good at something, you fall for her instantly.” How much did she know about this…? “Miss Kelara for sure. And I can tell from the way you look at one of the vassals you brought with you—something happened with that Yanhaan woman.” “Are you seriously deducing this yourself? You’re not spying on me, are you?” “I just know you really well. You simply weren’t in a position to woo women before. Now that you’re regent, you can’t control yourself.” My sister’s observation skills were unbelievable. “I’ll be more careful…” I wasn’t sure if I actually could, but that was all I managed to say. “I also have one other request of you.” “What is it? Whatever it is, don’t hold back—though at this point I don’t think you would.” “I want to talk with Miss Laviala, too. She was like a sister to me, after all.”